Mark Golkowski, University of Colorado – Denver

Waves in Plasmas: A 50-Year Quest for Resonance through Inhomogeneities, Anisotropies, and Induced Perturbations - Commission H

50th Anniversary Plenary Speaker, Thursday, January 11, 2024

Abstract: The past half-century has marked an era of remarkable achievement for USNC URSI Commission H. The primary focus of the commission members is the study of waves in plasmas in the broadest sense. As such our membership has tackled a vast spectrum of plasma physics and radio waves, encompassing scales ranging from the intricate orbits of individual electrons to the profound planetary ramifications of space weather. Major activities can be categorized into active geophysical experiments, observations on the ground and with spacecraft, laboratory plasma experiments, and theoretical and simulation efforts.

Commission H's enduring legacy is underscored by the creation of iconic ground facilities, including the legendary Arecibo Observatory, Siple Station, and the groundbreaking HAARP facility. These facilities have empowered us with the extraordinary ability to actively probe and manipulate natural plasmas using high-power radio waves. Taking advantage and studying nature’s own powerful radio waves from thunderstorm lightning has also bestowed upon us a trove of knowledge.

Attempts to reproduce the complex physics of space-based wave-particle interactions continue to be pursued, chiefly at the Naval Research Laboratory and also at the University of California Los Angeles. Large plasma chambers with multi-meter dimensions and intense magnetic fields are used to recreate the space plasma environment and replicate nonlinear interactions and wave mode conversions. Numerous scientific orbital spacecraft were launched in the past decades that provided fresh insight into radio wave interactions with space plasmas. Worth highlighting are missions both young and old starting with the NASA Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) in the 1960’s and the more recent missions of the Van Allen Probes (2012-2019), Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (launched 2015) and the US Air Force DSX satellite (2019-2021).

The extraordinary increase in available computing power over the last three decades has touched all research fields and in Commission H at least two areas of focus are worth mentioning. The complex and three dimensional nature of wave-plasma interactions makes self-consistent simulation very computationally expensive. One powerful technique is the so-called particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm in which individual charged particle trajectories are tracked under the influence of all electromagnetic forces. In the last 15 years a number of PIC and hybrid-PIC codes have been developed to reproduce key wave-particle interactions. Another area of focus has been leveraging machine learning algorithms for space weather prediction. Work in this area has accelerated and the coming years will no doubt bring new capabilities.

As we celebrate five decades of discovery, Commission H stands at the precipice of a bright future, poised to unlock new dimensions of plasma wave phenomena.

Biography: Mark Golkowski received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 2002 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 2004 and 2009, respectively. He served as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Space, Telecommunications, and Radio Science Laboratory at Stanford University from 2009-2010. His doctoral work and subsequent research heavily utilized the HAARP facility in Gakona, Alaska for experiments on active ELF/VLF wave injection into space. Dr. Golkowski is currently Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. He actively conducts research on electromagnetic waves in plasmas, ionospheric physics, near-Earth space physics, and biomedical applications of gas discharge plasmas. Dr. Golkowski has served as associate editor of the journal Earth, Moon, Planets. Dr. Golkowski was recipient of International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) Young Scientist Award for Excellence in 2008, IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society Best Symposium Paper Award in 2011 and National Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2013. He served as Associate Dean of Education and Student Success in 2020-2022 and has received campus level recognition in teaching, research, and student mentoring at the University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Golkowski served as Chair of USNC Commission H Waves in Plasmas from 2020-2023.